Cyanogen Inc hires three new VPs with previous experience at Microsoft, MediaTek and HTC

A lot has changed for CyanogenMod since 2013. Not only has the team expanded into the corporate world as Cyanogen Inc, it has since released two handsets with CyanogenMod pre-loaded by partnering first with Oppo and then later with OnePlus for the creation of the OnePlus One’s CyanogenMod 11S ROM.So what’s next for Cyanogen? We might not know the answer to that question, but today they announced new changes in leadership that could have an important impact on the company’s future.

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Cyanogen is bringing on three new hires, all of which will serve as new Vice Presidents for the company. Unlike the high-profile ROM developer hires earlier this year, this time Cyanogen is bringing in folks that have experience working for major corporations including the likes of Microsoft, HTC and MediaTek.

pulling in some pretty big players in the corporate world makes it clear that Cyanogen isn’t messing around and has big plans for the future

First up we have Dave Herman, the company’s new Vice President of Product. Before taking on this role he had held leadership roles at Hulu, Amazon and even Microsoft. The next new hire is Vikram Natarajan, the VP of Global Partnerships and Distribution. Vik previously worked in marketing for MediaTek and Broadcam, and his contacts and experience in marketing could be important for the company when it comes to working with chipmakers and OEMs alike.

Last and possibly the most intriguing of hires is Tyler Carper, the New Vice President of Engineering. Carper previously held a director of engineering position for HTC and has been involved with the development of several handsets including the One M7. Before coming to HTC, the new VP worked for Microsoft, where he was involved with the Xbox and Xbox 360 gaming consoles. Obviously Cyanogen isn’t a hardware company, so why have a VP of Engineering? Before we entertain the idea of a self-built Cyanogenmod phone, the more likely explanation is that he could play a role in developing custom ROMs that take advantage of partner hardware features in a manner similar to CyanogenMod 11S.

We don’t know how Cyanogen will utilize these talented individuals but pulling in some pretty big players in the corporate world makes it clear that Cyanogen isn’t messing around and has big plans for the future. What do you think of Cyanogen Inc so far, still excited for the future or do you wish that Cyanogenmod had remained as a smaller non-corporate ROM team?